Clive Johnston, a 78-year-old retired pastor in Northern Ireland, has been convicted and fined for preaching a Gospel-centered message near a hospital.
District Judge Peter King at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court convicted Johnston on May 7 of breaching a so-called “safe access zone” outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine on July 7, 2024, according to Fox News.
Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act bans “influencing,” “preventing or impeding access,” or “causing harassment, alarm, or distress” to a protected person within 100 meters — or about 328 feet — of any facility where abortions are performed. A woman in the U.K. was targeted by police for praying silently under similar pretenses.
Johnston, for his part, was found guilty of “influencing” within the perimeters of the protected zone and, as such, was fined 450 pounds, or about $614.
The septuagenarian may very well be the first person prosecuted under the law for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion, according to the Christian Institute, which advocated for Johnston.
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Not only was the former pastor not speaking about abortion — he was preaching about one of the most fundamental passages to the Gospel message, John 3:16, which states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV).
“It effectively redefines peaceful Christian witness as a form of unlawful ‘influence,’” Johnston told Fox News. “If simply reading the Bible, praying, and preaching on God’s love can now be considered harmful because someone might overhear it within a certain area, then we have crossed a very serious line.”
“John 3:16 is one of the most well-known and hope-filled verses in the Bible — a message about God’s love and salvation,” he continued. “If even that can be criminalized because of where it is spoken, then how can any public expression of Christian belief be truly safe from restriction?”
One of Johnston’s friends, a Kentucky-based pastor named Danny Davis, told Kentucky Today he was surprised to learn about Johnston’s conviction.
Telling the outlet that Johnston plans to appeal the ruling, Davis warned the court’s ruling could send a chilling effect to other Christians in Europe and beyond.
“If this thing stands,” he said, “it’s a terrible precedent that others would build upon to silence Christians.”
Ciarán Kelly, director of The Christian Institute, described Johnston’s case as an instance of “creeping censorship,” adding, “If the ruling stands, it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech, so we will be helping Clive consider his options for appeal.”
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